As a freshman for the Vanderbilt Commodores last season, former St. James star C.J. Duncan came through with big plays and finished second on the team 441 receiving yards, and tied for the team lead with four touchdowns.

As Duncan heads into his second year, coach Derek Mason expects big things from the Montgomery product.

“C.J. stepped on the field a year ago and had some splash games but was inconsistent week in and week out,” Mason said. “That could be said of our football team. C.J. has been probably one of the hardest workers during the offseason as being able to take his game to another level, and I believe with the help of (wide receivers) coach Cortez Hankton, he’s going to be able to do that,” Mason said. “He’s older. He’s smarter. He understands what the SEC is now.”

Former Edgewood star Josh Crawford signed with Vanderbilt in February and is getting ready for his first season in the SEC.

The 5-foot-10, 208-pound running back ran for 1,198 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Wildcats last season, averaging 11.2 yards per carry. He also caught 18 passes for 359 yards and four touchdowns on his way to being named the Advertiser All-Metro Player of the Year, first-team All-State and the AISA Back of the Year.

“Josh Crawford is young, and now with two recruiting classes behind us, we’re able to look at possibly slowing down how we play young guys and being able to let him mature in the SEC because, when those guys can mature, once they’re ready to play, they take off, and they wind up being productive,” Mason said.